


Times are AChanging

by Enigmaticrose4



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Lawyers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-02-11 14:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 9,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2072160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigmaticrose4/pseuds/Enigmaticrose4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruhi is about to get her first law case. It turns out she's defending someone she knows from Ouran. From the characters you can see who it is. But why does Mori need defending? Can Haruhi and Mori navigate corporate espionage and survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an older work I decided to publish. Not my best, but I've never found pairing Haruhi and Mori to be very likely in my mind.

In the year 2017 Haruhi joined the firm of Tachiki and Son; mainly because Mr. Tachiki's sons had all decided that they wanted to become corporate lawyers. In this universe Haruhi is unmarried. When she was at Ouran she dated Tamaki for awhile, but they ultimately broke up.

Probably because Tamaki realized he was gay. He now lived with his life partner, Kaoru, in a penthouse apartment in Tokyo where they managed and designed, respectfully, for a worldwide fashion company.

Hikaru hadn't married; right now he was actually dating twin girls, Masaye and Chiye, but there was nothing serious going on there. Professionally he did some painting in-between designing lines for Kaoru and Tamaki to display and market for him.

Kyoya was married to a French girl he met in college named Alianore Roux, they were expecting their first child soon and Kyoya has become the official heir to his father's companies.

Hunny has married Reiko and have just had twin boys. Reiko manages an internet company that sells occult things while also allowing people to post stories, reports, or questions about the occult. Hunny on the other hand was working with Mori to personally train people so that they could start up new dojo's all over the world.

Mori has never married, preferring to devote himself to serving his cousin and his small family. At the moment Mori lives with his best friend, Chelsea. Chelsea is in love with Hunny and has been since childhood, this and a family history have left her partly unstable. Because of this Mori is very protective of Chelsea, probably because he always cares for hurt creatures.

Mr. Tachiki is one of the most sought after defense attorneys in the business. He always hoped that his son, Mamoru, would stay with him as a defense attorney. Mamoru did not though. He decided upon graduation from law school that he would move to France to be closer to the love of his life, Zackarie.

Zackarie is brother-in-law to Kyoya, since his sister, Alianore, is Kyoya's wife. He and Mamoru met when they joined the Host Club together at Ouran. The two of them only realized they loved each other years later, right before a trip to Europe. Mr. Tachiki does not realize that his son-in-law's sister is married to one of Haruhi's best friends from Ouran.

Haruhi has been at Tachiki and Son for a month now. Mr. Tachiki has only given Haruhi small cases that will never reach court, since he wants to test out her skills first. Now though, all is changing. Mr. Tachiki has just gotten a very important client and he wants Haruhi to take the case, since it seems pretty cut and dry. An ex-employee is accusing her employer of sexually harassing her. She is determined to take him to court and wring him dry, while embarrassing him also. Mr. Tachiki has been hired by the employer. The employer states that he was innocent, unfortunately, he has no solid alibi. Despite this, Mr. Tachiki feels that Haruhi will be more than up to the job. Now we just have to see if he's correct.


	2. Chapter 2

Haruhi was reviewing some old case files when her computer dinged. She had just gotten a memo from Mr. Tachiki. He wanted to see her in his office. Haruhi grabbed a pen and a notebook before hurrying out the door. He probably had some notes he wanted her to take.

Haruhi smiled at Ms. Numata, the secretary before opening the door to Mr. Tachiki's office. It was a rather large office. With windows all along one side that looked out over Tokyo. The room had a very modern feel with some traditional elements. The desk was an old-fashioned cherry with two chairs in front of it. Haruhi never noticed any of this though.

"You wanted to see me Mr. Tachiki?" She asked as she went to take a seat in front of his desk.

"Yes, yes I did. You see Ms. Fujioka, I believe it is time you spread your wings and flew." As he said this Mr. Tachiki stood up from his desk and began pacing. "When you first come out of law school you must spend your time learning your surroundings and getting a feel for the real world. Then, once you've done this for awhile you begin taking baby steps into the real world. You work a case here, or you work a case there; never one that goes to court of course. And then! When your mentor decides that you are truly ready to spread your wings, you fly! You fly right into a cut and dry court case that will make or break your career. One that will ensure that people will come seek you out. One that will bring you true fame and fortune. Fame and fortune that you have rightly earned, of course." Haruhi just stared at Mr. Tachiki as he gave this speech. Even Tamaki couldn't spout this much nonsense at one time. It baffled her that Mr. Tachiki, a successful defense lawyer, could. "Now is your time to fly Ms. Fujioka. I have a case here for you that will make you famous! Here's the case file. You're defending an innocent man accused of sexual harassment. Your client will be here in ten minutes. Go win this case!" Mr. Tachiki almost shouted the last sentence as he thrust a file into Haruhi's hands.

"Thank you Mr. Tachiki." Haruhi said as calmly as she could. Her mind was still reeling from that speech. Haruhi then left Mr. Tachiki's office and wandered down the hall to her own, which wasn't nearly as grandiose as Mr. Tachiki's office.

As soon as the door to her office shut Haruhi allowed herself a huge smile. She had finally done it! Mr. Tachiki trusted her with a case! Haruhi sat down at her computer and sent a quick email to her father, he would be so proud. As soon as she finished the email she started to open the case file. Before she could begin to read the file Ms. Numata sent her a memo stating that her client was here. Haruhi shot a quick memo back asking her to send the client in.

Quickly Haruhi straightened her desk. She finished and got her hands right in front of her on the case file when the door opened. Haruhi looked up at her new client and smiled her natural Host Club smile, "Welcome, please have a…." Haruhi's voice trailed off as she saw who was smiling kindly at her from the door.

"Hello Haruhi. How are you?" He said softly.

This was who was accused of sexual harassment? Who in the world would accuse him of that? They had to be crazy!


	3. Chapter 3

"Mori? You're my client?" Haruhi said incredulously.

Mori merely smiled slightly and shrugged at her as he took a seat in front of her desk. Haruhi couldn't believe it. Mori was being accused of sexual harassment? Mori? Tamaki maybe, possibly even Kyoya, definitely the twins, but not  _Mori_.

"Um, want to tell me what happened? I just was told about this case ten minutes ago, so I haven't had a chance to read the file yet." Haruhi explained.

"Just read it. I'll wait." Mori said simply.

Haruhi smiled in thanks and began reading the case file. Apparently Mori and his friend Chelsea had opened and organized an animal rescue center. One night Mori was working late with some rescued squirrels. An employee was also working late, a Maaya Sakamoto. Ms. Sakamoto said that she was filing reports in the office when Mori came in and began making lewd suggestions before groping her. She ended up fighting him off and ran home.

This all happened months ago, she's only pressing charges now because she saw him corner his friend Chelsea one day and kiss her. Chelsea had managed to slip away before helping him to a couch. When Ms. Sakamoto discussed this with Chelsea she was told to just ignore it, that things like this just happened.

Haruhi looked up from the file. She automatically knew what had brought up this incident. "Mori, you were sleepy weren't you? That's why you kissed Chelsea?"

Mori nodded and quietly said, "I don't love her that way."

Haruhi smiled kindly before going on, "What about with Ms. Sakamoto? Were you sleepy then also or was she making it up?"

Mori shrugged, "I'm not sure."

Haruhi let out a soft sigh, "Ok, have you ever made lewd comments or groped before? I know you kiss when you're tired."

Mori thought for a moment. "Not that I know of. Ask Chelsea though."

"Alright, I'll do that. How about the three of us meet for a business lunch tomorrow? Just let me know a time and place. I'll have some more research done by then and we can continue this discussion."

"Sure, I'll email you." Mori then stood up and shook Haruhi's hand before letting himself out.

Haruhi slumped back into her chair as she thought this over. So, she had a client that loved small animals and only made passes at women when he was sleepy and an accuser who's story didn't add up. She knew now what Mr. Tachiki meant about being cut and dry. Ms. Sakamoto's story had one huge hole in it. How did she fight off Mori? A very tall and strong man who is also a very accomplished martial artist?

Haruhi was going to get to the bottom of this. Mori was too sweet of a guy to be hurt by false accusations like this. Haruhi smiled to herself as she thought this. Ya, Mori was a sweet guy. She'd realized that when he had saved her from Tamaki her very first day with the Host Club. In fact, some part of her had always wondered what would have happened if they'd gotten lost while wandering through the indoor jungle. Haruhi knew what she would do now if that happened, preferably with Mori awake.


	4. Chapter 4

Haruhi stepped into the little café at exactly noon. Just like Mori had requested in his email. She had some questions to ask him and Chelsea before she gave them the very interesting news she had discovered.

Looking around the cheery café she found Mori and Chelsea sitting in a table near the back. Haruhi easily wended her way through the café until she reached their table. She plopped herself down in the seat across from Mori while dropping her briefcase in the seat beside her.

"Hello Mori, hello Chelsea." Haruhi said after sitting down.

Mori just nodded, while Chelsea cheerfully said, "Afternoon Haruhi, I'm glad you could join us."

A moment later the waiter came over. After the three of them ordered their lunch Haruhi got down to business.

"Chelsea, has Mori ever done more than kiss and smile like an idiot when he's sleepy?" Haruhi asked in her most businesslike tone.

Chelsea though for a moment, completely oblivious to the indignant look on Mori's face at being told he 'smiles like an idiot'. "No, not with me at least. The most he ever did was pull me into a hug with him as he fell onto the couch. I couldn't get away from him for hours and his hipbone was pushing into my side. It was rather uncomfortable."

Haruhi smiled, "That's what I thought. I was sure Mori wouldn't act like that so I did a little digging on Ms. Sakamoto. It turns out that before she went to work for the two of you she used to work for Sagisu Corporation. I'm sure that rings a bell."

Chelsea gasped, "They're the ones that are trying to turn that wildlife refuge into condominiums!"

Mori scowled at this and quietly asked, "Is she still working for them?"

Haruhi nodded, "I believe so, her financial records don't add up. I need to do a little more digging to get enough evidence for court. But my thought is that she's making up this whole case in order to discredit your organization; since at the moment you are the biggest obstacle in Sagisu Corporations acquisition of the wildlife refuge. Our biggest piece of evidence to support this is that she says she fought you off Mori."

Chelsea interrupted before Haruhi could continue. "Is this a joke? Tiny little Ms. Sakamoto, who can't even open a pickle jar, claims to have fought Mori off?"

Mori and Haruhi nodded.

"I don't believe it! She's crazy! Ooooo!" Chelsea stopped to take a deep breath. "Mori, I'm leaving, there's no way I can eat lunch after hearing that lie. I'll meet you back at the apartment." Chelsea then stood up and grabbed her purse before storming out of the restaurant in a huff.

Haruhi looked after Chelsea in surprise. "Is she always like that?"

Mori just smiled and nodded.

Since business was out of the way Haruhi and Mori spent most of the rest of lunch eating in companionable silence. That was one of the things Haruhi liked most about Mori. He didn't seem to need to fill the air with idle chitchat like Tamaki or the twins. He knew when silence was preferred and he let silence stay silent.

After lunch was over Haruhi gave Mori a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll let you know when I have more information."

"Alright. Have a good day."

Haruhi gave him one of her best smiles, "Every day I have lunch with an old friend is a good day."

Mori simply nodded and walked off towards his apartment building down the street.


	5. Chapter 5

Haruhi yawned and stretched. Glancing at the corner of her computer screen she saw that it was 0330 on Saturday morning. Where did the time go? Haruhi had been putting in long hours on Mori's case trying to bulk up the defense and go through all the evidence against Mori – including the obviously false testimony given by Ms. Sakamoto.

The office had been empty for hours. Haruhi had lost track of time. Sighing she hit save and backed up all her files to the office server. She didn't need to lose important information because of some stupid hard drive failure.

When she closed her laptop the only light in the room came from a streetlamp outside the window. She grabbed her bag and headed to the door. Halfway there the light in the hallway came on.

Haruhi froze.

There shouldn't be lights coming on at 0330 in the morning. The cleaners had come and gone and Haruhi was the only person who worked her stupid to be here at this hour. A quiver of fear ran through Haruhi's veins.

Something didn't feel right.

She slipped slowly over to the door and silently turned the lock. Then she retreated into her coat closet, holding her phone.

Who to call?

She couldn't call the police. What if the light  _was_  turned on by someone who actually worked here? Also Mr. Tachiki wouldn't like the bad publicity, and there would be publicity. This was an extremely safe part of town. Any police coming to investigate would be of intense interest to anyone nearby, and some people did live near here.

Without really thinking about it she scrolled through her contacts until she found Mori and called him.

"Hello?" Mori sounded very groggy.

"Mori, I'm at the office." Haruhi froze as she heard her office door rattle. She pushed herself farther into the closet and lowered her voice. "Someone's breaking in, I think, I don't know, there's no one –"

"I'm coming." Mori said before hanging up. His voice hadn't sounded groggy at all that time.

The door to Haruhi's office abruptly stopped rattling. A moment later she saw the light come on. Haruhi stopped breathing and grabbed one of the solid wooden coat hangers in her closet. If the intruder opened the door she wouldn't go down without a fight.

As Haruhi stood in the closet with bated breath the light in her office went back off. She slowly opened the closet door after she heard the door to her office close. There was no one in the office. Glancing around she immediately saw that her laptop was missing.

"Sagisu Corporation," Haruhi whispered as she pulled out her phone. She was just about to send a text to Kyoya when the door to her office slammed open.

Haruhi turned quickly, dropping her phone, and holding the hanger above her head. Standing in the doorway was the tallest man she knew.

"Mori! They're gone. They took my laptop."

"You're ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I hid in the closet; they never knew I was here."

"Good. I'll phone the police." Mori pulled out his own cell phone and began dialing.

Haruhi picked her own phone back up and hit the 'send' button. As she picked up the phone she noticed her hands were shaking a little. A few moments letter Kyoya replied.

 **Kyoya:**  I'll have the GPS in your laptop turned on. The police heading to your location already have everything they need to track it. Please get that laptop back. It wasn't a cheap graduation gift.

Haruhi sent him back a quick reply.

 **Haruhi:**  Thanks Kyoya. I'll get it back.

Mori hung up and looked over at her. "You sure you're ok?"

Haruhi took a deep breath. "I'm fine Mori, I'm just a bit shaken, that's all."

Mori gave her one of his small smiles and walked over to give her a comforting hug. Haruhi started to pull out of hug but found herself unable to. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and hugged her friend back. She wasn't big on hugs, but somehow, being hugged by Mori was quite nice.


	6. Chapter 6

Haruhi took another sip of the coffee Mori had made for her as she waited for the police to bring more news. She couldn't believe they had stolen her laptop. They had also stolen her hardcopy of the file, she hadn't realized that until after the police had arrived. Didn't they realize this was 2017? Didn't they realize that everything was backed up onto the office's private server? Idiots, she was in a case against idiots.

Mori walked back into the office and sat in one of the empty chairs. "The backups ok?"

Haruhi snorted, "Yes, they're ok. The idiots took my laptop and the hardcopy file, but they didn't bother with the backups. You would think that they were the tree–huggers and that you were the corporate executive."

A small wry smile crossed Mori's face so fast that Haruhi almost missed it. "Sagisu Corporation is headed by an older generation."

"Is that your polite way of saying they're a bunch of dinosaurs?" Haruhi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mori seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding.

Haruhi giggled, almost spilling coffee down her suit.

Another small smile flitted across Mori's face.

Haruhi had forgotten what a dry sense of humor Mori had. It was quite refreshing; especially after that dinner she had with Tamaki and Kaoru a couple nights ago. Haruhi studied Mori's face as she realized that she hadn't spent much time with him or Hunny since graduation. Why was that? It wasn't because she didn't like spending time with them. Maybe it was the age difference? They were two years older than her after all and Hunny was married now with twin boys. Mori wasn't married though, despite the fact that he lived with Chelsea.

"Mori do you love Chelsea?" Haruhi didn't know why she asked that. It was a rather personal question. Had Tamaki rubbed off on her after all these years?

Mori just blinked at her for a moment. "No," he finally answered.

"Oh, I, well, just wondered. After all you do live together."

"She loves Hunny. I just keep her sane."

Haruhi felt herself blushing, "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize. That's rather sad isn't it?"

Haruhi could've sworn that she saw deep pools of sadness appear in Mori's eyes for a second. "It's tragic."

Haruhi didn't know what to say to that.

They sat there unspeaking for a few minutes – neither willing to break the silence. There was a light rap on the doorframe. Haruhi looked up to see one of the police officers standing there.

"Is there news?" She asked him as she put her coffee on the desk and stood up.

"Yes, we found your laptop. It was thrown into a dumpster a few blocks from here. The hard drive was missing, but otherwise it was in perfect condition."

"Any sign of the missing file?"

"No miss, I'm sorry. We've taken the laptop down to the station to see if we can get any prints off of it. Once the case is cleared you'll get it back."

"Thanks, Kyoya will be  _so_  happy to find out it's alright." Haruhi couldn't help but let sarcasm lace her words.

"He already knows. He was listening in on our police radios. He called as soon as we found it to make sure we treated it with care. I didn't realize laptops could cost that much." There was shock and awe in the officer's voice as he related this news.

"Neither did I, I can't believe he gave something so expensive to me anyway. Well, thank you officer."

"No problem miss, call if you have any more problems." He tipped his hat to her before making his way out of the room.

Haruhi looked over at Mori, who was still in his chair, calmly sipping his coffee. "Thoughts?"

Mori took another sip of his coffee before responding. "They either want to see what case you have or," he paused to take another sip, if it had been anyone but Mori she would've thought he did it on purpose, "they really are dinosaurs as you said."

Haruhi giggled again. She didn't know what was with her tonight. Maybe all the excitement and adrenaline had made her silly, but Mori calling someone a dinosaur was highly amusing. "You're wonderful Mori, why have I not been spending more time with you lately?"

He stood up and put his mug down next to hers as he merely shrugged before saying, "Let's get you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to keep all these chapters between 600 and 800 words for some crazy ocd reason. Though I'm telling myself it's a test of my writing abilities somehow. So, did they take it because they're dinosaurs or because they want to know what Haruhi has against them?


	7. Chapter 7

A week after the break-in at the office Haruhi was meeting Kyoya at an exclusive restaurant. They were seated in a small private booth, with a sound muffler surrounding it. No one could hear a thing they said once the main course was served and the muffler turned on. The two of them engaged in small talk until the main course arrived.

"Was your private investigator able to find what I wanted?" Haruhi asked before taking a delicate bite of crab. She still relished every bite, but she did it much more gracefully now. In her line of work appearances meant almost as much as cold hard facts did.

Kyoya took a sip of his chilled green tea before answering her, "Yes, it wasn't easy though. There were many layers and dead ends for her to work through. Here's the file."

Kyoya pulled out a small disk and handed it to Haruhi. She stuck it in the slot in her uPad and pulled up the information. All of her suspicions were confirmed.

"I was right. Maaya Sakamoto does still work for Sagisu Corporation. That was stupid of them to keep her on the official payroll, even under an alias." Haruhi rolled her eyes at the sheer idiocy she was up against.

"They did that for tax purpose and it was rather difficult to unearth her alias. Apparently Ms. Sakamoto does this quite often for them. She's up to her eyebrows in corporate espionage. She bit off more than she can chew this time though."

"That she did. Thank you for the information, anything else business related to talk to me about?"

Kyoya reached over and picked up a black bag on the floor. "Here's a new laptop for you, the harddrive in this one is impossible to remove without specialized tools. If someone tries to get to the harddrive without the proper tools then it will automatically wipe itself."

"Kyoya, you didn't need to get me another laptop. I can survive until the police give me mine back."

"That may be true, but I wanted you to have it and so did Alianore. Consider it a bonus for working on this case. That's what it is in my tax records. I am one of the primary backers behind the animal rescue shelter." Kyoya stated calmly as he put the bag next to Haruhi and went back to eating his noodles.

"I still don't understand why you back the shelter, there's no profit in it for you."

"Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi, you are much too literal. There is no monetary profit, true, but there's more than money in this world. The shelter is helping protect the environment, which ultimately helps mankind and my company. Also, I have a son on the way, I want him to be able to grow up in the same sort of world I did."

Haruhi found herself giggling at Kyoya's speech, "Either Tamaki has rubbed off on you, or your wife as. You  _never_  used to talk like that. How is Alianore doing anyway? I've been too busy to talk to her lately."

"She's eight months pregnant and even more hot-tempered than normal. Frankly, I'll be happier in a month when our little boy is here. Her hormones will begin to settle down and she won't be constantly looking for things to throw at me."

Haruhi giggled again as Kyoya swiped his credit card and gave his thumbprint to the table's register. It was highly amusing to watch Kyoya and his high-strung wife interact. The two of them were so perfect together.

Kyoya escorted Haruhi to her vehicle.

"Thank you for lunch and the information Kyoya. I'll keep you posted on any new developments. Give Alianore my love."

Kyoya gave Haruhi a quick hug before opening the door for. "I will, you take care of yourself alright? Ms. Sakamoto doesn't have a record, but she might grow desperate once she realizes the noose is closing in."

"She has to realize it's closing in first," Haruhi flashed him a perfect imitation of his Shadow King smile. "Don't worry , she'll never know what hit her."

Haruhi pulled the door shut and pulled up the list of favorite addresses and told the vehicle to take her to the Morinozuka Animal Shelter. It was time to share the good news with her client and friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Haruhi walked into the conference room and took a seat next to Mori. Across from them sat Ms. Sakamoto and her lawyer, Mr. Shioya. He was an older man with a very strong record. There was no way Ms. Sakamoto could afford him according to the tax papers Haruhi had on her income.

Haruhi had actually met him before; his son joined the Host Club at Ouran in 2010 and graduated as President.

At the end of the table sat a gentleman waiting with a recorder to take their depositions.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mr. Watanabe and I will be taking your depositions today. I want Mr. Morinozuka and Ms. Sakamoto to tell the recorder exactly what happened on June 8, 2017. If Ms. Sakamoto will start as soon as she's comfortable."

Haruhi watched Ms. Sakamoto closely, keeping an eye out for those little telltale signs that someone is lying.

Ms. Sakamoto looked down and began talking to the table very quietly.

Mr. Watanabe cleared his throat, "Ms. Sakamoto, you need to speak louder please, the recorder can't pick up your voice."

As Ms. Sakamoto raised her voice and looked up at the recorder Haruhi caught a flash of anger in her eyes. Did she honestly think she could get away with not really giving a deposition?

"On June 8th I was working late, trying to file some paperwork we had recently received from a veterinarian on the conditions of different animals that have been adopted. I was almost done when Mr. Morinozuka entered the room," Haruhi watched as Ms. Sakamoto took a deep breath, as if to settle her nerves. "I asked him if he needed anything. He didn't say anything at first. He came over and pressed me up against the filing cabinets. He then started groping me and whispering things in my ear. Things he said he wanted to do to me," tears began to slowly trail down Ms. Sakamoto's face. "They were horrible things. Then he pushed his mouth on me, I think he thought it was a kiss. While he was distracted with that I rammed my knee up between his legs. When he fell I ran. I had just gotten into my car and locked the doors when he charged out of the building, a look of pure rage on his face. I drove away as fast as I could. I didn't say anything to anyone at first because who would believe me over the son of one of the most powerful families in Japan? I finally changed my mind when I saw him doing the same thing to his partner and roommate, Ms. Chelsea Willingham. When she wouldn't join me in protesting against him I decided to do it on my own. No more women need to suffer this."

Ms. Sakamoto then broke into tears and was comforted by Mr. Shioya patting her kindly on the shoulder.

Haruhi resisted to roll her eyes. A look of pure rage on Mori's face, seriously? He could look scary, but he never lost his temper. Mori was one of the sweetest men in the world.

"Thank you Ms. Sakamoto. Mr. Morinozuka, if you could begin yours." Mr. Watanabe said calmly as he adjusted his glasses, completely unfazed by Ms. Sakamoto's tears.

Mori took a deep breath and began to speak. "I was nursing some injured squirrels back to health. I had just finished bottle feeding the babies when I grew extremely tired. I grabbed my keys and headed for the door."

Haruhi noted that Mori looked extremely uncomfortable at saying so much at once.

"The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor of the office. I have no memory of doing any of the things that Ms. Sakamoto says that I did; nor do I have any memory of doing any of those things to Ms. Willingham."

Mori stopped talking and leaned back in his seat some, he was completely expressionless.

"Thank you Mr. Morinozuka and Ms. Sakamoto. I will have copies of these depositions sent to your lawyers. Have a good day." Mr. Watanabe coolly packed up his recorder and left the conference room.

Before everyone else left Haruhi approached Mr. Shioya, "Mr. Shioya could you send me more copies of your evidence? My laptop was stolen, along with the case file."

Mr. Shioya frowned, "What about your office server? Don't you have a backup?"

Haruhi allowed herself to blush and said very quietly, "Well, I hadn't actually gotten around to backing it up yet…"

"Ms. Fujioka, I'd have expected better from a former President of the Host Club. You should be ashamed of yourself. Nonetheless, I'll have copies sent over again. Try not to lose them this time."

"Oh, don't worry Mr. Shioya, I'll make sure to back these ones up." Haruhi felt bad lying to Mr. Shioya, he was a nice old man, but another man's life and honor was on the line. Sometimes white lies were necessary.

When Haruhi got into the vehicle with Mori she finally let a smile appear on her face. "They fell for it Mori. As far as they know we did lose everything. The noose is still invisible."

"Good," Mori said softly as the two of them let the vehicle take them back to her office.


	9. Chapter 9

Haruhi handed Mori a mug of coffee and then took a seat in her desk chair. The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes, quietly drinking their coffee and mulling over the events of the morning.

Depositions were always difficult to give. Your memory can play funny tricks on you and if you allow that to happen during a deposition it can ruin your case.

"I think that went well," Haruhi said quietly.

Mori gave her a small smile. "Of course it did, you're my lawyer."

Haruhi felt her face heat. Why did such an innocent smile and statement from Mori make her feel all hot and confused? This was  _Mori_  – the strong, silent guardian of the Host Club. The last time she had felt like this was when she was in love with Tamaki, before he and Kaoru realized their love for each other. Surely she couldn't feel this way about Mori. He had Chelsea, sure they weren't in a relationship, but they acted like an old married couple sometimes. Speaking of Chelsea…

"Mori, when will Chelsea be here?"

Mori glanced up at the wall clock before responding, "Any minute."

Haruhi simply nodded; if she spoke she might ask a question that would open a can of worms.

The silence stretched on and on. Usually silence with Mori was pleasant and peaceful, but right now… Now it was almost painful for Haruhi. Why was she suddenly having these feelings? Was Mori having them also? Did he have them for Chelsea? She knew he had said that he didn't, but maybe he was protecting her? That was just like him.

"Mori?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you love someone?"

Mori looked up from his coffee mug and stared at her for a minute before answering, "Yes."

Haruhi closed her eyes before asking the next question, "Does she love you back?"

Mori looked back down at his coffee mug, as he said very quietly, "No."

"Oh, have you loved her for long?"

Haruhi watched as Mori took another sip of coffee before answering. He looked so strong and yet gentle drinking the coffee. "Years, since I first met her."

It had to be Chelsea then. Mori had known her for years and he had first met her when she fell out of a tree and into his arms. Well, then, Haruhi would just have to ignore these feelings. Love wasn't ready for her yet, just like it wasn't for Mori. He was trapped in a doomed relationship since Chelsea loved Hunny. Poor Mori...

The door opened, interrupting Haruhi's thoughts.

Chelsea walked in, "Well? Did that crazy woman lie during the deposition? She did didn't she?"

"Yes, she lied quite a bit. I can easily disprove one of her lies in court. The others will be a bit more difficult." Haruhi put her mug down and began pulling up files on her computer. "Now, we need to go over some details before the trial next week. We don't want to make a single mistake."

"Right!" Chelsea shouted exuberantly as Mori held out a chair for her. He was such a perfect gentleman.

The three of them got down to business and began planning their defense. The battle would be difficult, but their cause was just.


	10. Chapter 10

Haruhi nervously shuffled the papers in front of her once again. Today was the day of the trial and in just a few minutes she would be giving her first opening statement.

Mori sat beside her silently, staring out the window at the growing clouds. Those weren't helping Haruhi's nervousness either. What if it started thundering during the trial? Would she lose control of herself and freak out? That wouldn't help the trial. If it was possible she would think that the opposition had caused a storm on purpose.

"All rise!" The bailiff said loudly as the judge walked into the room.

Haruhi watched as the judge, an elderly white-haired man, took his seat.

Everyone took their seat as Judge Nozawa began to speak. "What you will hear in the next few moments are the opening statements of the lawyers. What the lawyers say is not evidence. The purpose of the opening statement is to foreshadow or predict for you what the evidence will actually be. It will be up to you after hearing all of the evidence whether either side has proved or correctly predicted what the evidence will be. I caution you that what you hear in opening statement is not evidence. The evidence will begin when the first witness begins to testify."

Mr. Shioya took the floor and cleared his throat before facing the jury and beginning his opening statement. He spoke in a firm, trust-inducing voice. "Today I bring before you a normal woman. She is someone just like you, she took a job doing what she loves – caring for animals. Now she comes before you in an attempt to stand up for what is good and right. She was taken advantage of by her employer and now she demands justice. I remind you now to please view this woman as an average innocent, someone caught in a world far more deceptive and dangerous than we can even imagine. Please keep this mind as you view the evidence."

Haruhi had to resist rolling her eyes as Mr. Shioya took his seat. She caught a quick glimmer of triumph in Ms. Sakamoto's eyes. Apparently she thought she was on the path to winning, well, it was time to wake her up from that little day dream.

Haruhi stood up and took the floor, looking extremely calm and composed, despite the butterflies in her stomach. She cast a quick look out the window at the cloud heavy sky before beginning. "My client stands accused of one of the most heinous of crimes. One he is not even capable of committing. I shall prove this today, along with the fact that Ms. Sakamoto accused him of this falsely due to her involvement in corporate espionage. Please take everything you hear today with a grain of salt, since salt makes every cooking dish taste better. That's something all of commoners should know. Thank you."

Haruhi gave the jury a small bow and then quietly returned to her seat. Mori caught her eye as she sat. He looked so proud of her.

"Thank you Mr. Shioya and Ms. Fujioka," Judge Nozawa said firmly. "Mr. Shioya you may call your first witness to the stand."

Haruhi glanced over to see twin looks of shock and horror on Mr. Shioya's and Ms. Sakamoto's faces. It took all of her willpower to not smile.

Mr. Shioya stumbled a little as he stood up, but quickly recovered. "I would like to call Ms. Maaya Sakamoto to the stand."


	11. Chapter 11

Haruhi sat there calmly as she watched they lying Ms. Sakamoto take a seat in the witness box. Ms. Sakamoto was the perfect image of calm, despite the look of shock that had been on her face but minutes before.

Once Ms. Sakamoto was seated Mr. Shioya cleared his throat and began to ask questions. "Ms. Sakamoto is your employer Mr. Takashi Morinozuka?"

"Yes," Ms. Sakamoto said clearly and firmly.

"When did you begin working for him?"

"About six months ago."

"Alright, what was your job description?"

"I was technically a receptionist, but I actually took care of all the paperwork."

Mr. Shioya nodded slowly as he got back into his comfort zone, letting the shock of Haruhi's opening statement move behind him.

"Can you tell me what happened on June 8th?"

"On June 8th I was working late, trying to file some paperwork we had recently received from a veterinarian on the conditions of different animals that have been adopted. I was almost done when Mr. Morinozuka entered the room," Haruhi watched as Ms. Sakamoto took a deep breath, as if to settle her nerves. "I asked him if he needed anything. He didn't say anything at first. He came over and pressed me up against the filing cabinets. He then started groping me and whispering things in my ear. Things he said he wanted to do to me," tears began to slowly trail down Ms. Sakamoto's face. "They were horrible things. Then he pushed his mouth on me, I think he thought it was a kiss. While he was distracted with that I rammed my knee up between his legs. When he fell I ran. I had just gotten into my car and locked the doors when he charged out of the building, a look of pure rage on his face. I drove away as fast as I could. I didn't say anything to anyone at first because who would believe me over the son of one of the most powerful families in Japan? I finally changed my mind when I saw him doing the same thing to his partner and roommate, Ms. Chelsea Willingham. When she wouldn't join me in protesting against him I decided to do it on my own. No more women need to suffer this."'

Haruhi's eyes widened in shock as she realized that Ms. Sakamoto bad just repeated, word for word, what she had said during the deposition. She had memorized it, to make sure she wouldn't forget details. Well then…Haruhi would use that to her advantage.

"I'm done your honor," Mr. Shioya said to Judge Nozawa.

"Thank you Mr. Shioya, Ms. Fujioka would you like to cross-examine the witness?"

"Yes your honor, I would." Haruhi said as she stood and approached Ms. Sakamoto. "Ms. Sakamoto was Mr. Takashi Morinozuka your only employer during these past six months?"

"Of course," Ms. Sakamoto said calmly.

"Oh? Then why do I have proof of you being on the Sagisu Corporation payroll during those six months? According to this," Haruhi held up a copy of the payroll that Kyoya had obtained for her, "you were."

"Objection your honor! The defense did not share this evidence with us." Mr. Shioya called out.

"Is this true Ms. Fujioka?" Judge Nozawa asked.

"No your honor, it isn't true. I sent copies of this evidence, along with the rest of my evidence to Mr. Shioya's office multiple times. I even have a receipt to prove it," Haruhi held her receipt up.

Mr. Shioya seemed lost and confused again. "But, but, I thought you were just being overly cautious after your harddrive and paperwork was stolen!"

"So you never looked at the evidence Ms. Fujioka sent over? Then I believe your objection is not necessary. Please continue Ms. Fujioka," Judge Nozawa said.

Haruhi gave Ms. Sakamoto a small smile. "Well Ms. Sakamoto, why do I have proof that you were employed with Sagisu Corporation while you worked for Mr. Takashi Morinozuka?"

Ms. Sakamoto had no reply, she just sat there, a look of shock on her face, as her mouth moved up and down wordlessly.


	12. Chapter 12

Judge Nozawa leaned over so he could see Ms. Sakamoto. "Ms. Sakamoto, I believe that the defense have asked you a question."

Ms. Sakamoto gave herself a little shake and answered Haruhi's question. "There – there must be some mistake in their paperwork. I stopped working for them an entire month before I was hired by Mr. Morinozuka."

Haruhi raised one eyebrow, appearing so cool and controlled that even Kyoya would've been proud. In actuality she felt like a child with stage fright. "Is that so? Then why is it not listed on your resume? It says here," Haruhi held up another document, "that you worked for Suzuki Industries."

Ms. Sakamoto became quite flustered; her calmness was completely gone now. "Well, I-I-I'm not sure. Wait! I mean, I did work for Suzuki Industries! I worked at Sagisu Corporation before I worked at Suzuki Industries!"

Haruhi pretended to peruse the resume for a moment before responding. "Oh? Is that so? Then why is it not on your resume?" Haruhi held up her hand before Ms. Sakamoto could respond. "And why did you get a sizable amount of yen dropped in a bank account under your name in Switzerland a week ago, put there by Sagisu Corporation?"

Ms. Sakamoto was now as pale as death, before she could even defend herself though something else occurred. Two older, heavy-set men stormed out of the audience and burst through the little door. Before the courtroom guards could do a thing they had latched onto Haruhi, pure rage clouding their faces.

"YOU BITCH!" One of them screamed in her face, spittle flying everywhere.

"HOW DID YOU-" The other one started to yell before being cut off.

One moment they were there, the next they were flying across the courtroom at a wall and Mori was standing there instead, a look of concern on his face. "Are you alright Haruhi?"

Haruhi took a deep breath and gave him a comforting smile before turning to face the judge. She began to speak, not even noticing the rolling thunder outside now, too caught up in having her plan unfold correctly. No thunderstorm would stop her from saving Mori.

"Your Honor, I move to have this case thrown out." Haruhi said clearly and succinctly to Judge Nozawa, despite her harried appearance and the lightening flashing against the windows.

Judge Nozawa tilted his head to one side, "On what grounds Ms. Fujioka?"

"On the grounds that Ms. Sakamoto is falsely accusing my client of sexual harassment in order to further the plans of her true employers. Those men," Haruhi pointed to the two struggling men being held by the courtroom guards, "are Mr. Sagisu and Mr. Sagisu, owners of Sagisu Corporation. They use Ms. Sakamoto here to conduct corporate espionage and whatever else is necessary to improve this business."

Judge Nozawa nodded slowly, "I can see why this should be retried, but now why it should be thrown out Ms. Fujioka. Do you have any other reasons?"

Haruhi had to stop herself from letting a small smile slip out. "Yes Your Honor, I can. As you just saw, Mr. Morinozuka is highly skilled in martial arts. If you would like I could obtain a list of all the medals and honors he has won since he was a small boy. Ms. Sakamoto, on the other hand, has had no physical training at all. So the one hole in her story is – how did she fight him off?" Haruhi turned back to face Ms. Sakamoto. "Well Ms. Sakamoto, how did you fight off someone so skilled in martial arts?"

Ms. Sakamoto looked like she wanted to sink into the floor now, her entire life was crumbling around her. In a panic she yelled out, "He didn't attack me! I lied! I lied!" She broke down crying as rain slashed against the windows and thunder boomed over the yelling from the crowd.

Judge Nozawa put his head in one of his hands as he banged the gavel with the other, "Case dismissed!" He managed to yell over the noise.


	13. Chapter 13

The courtroom erupted into cheers. Haruhi turned to smile up at Mori in happiness, his name had been cleared.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was suddenly silenced.

Their friends from the Host Club stood behind the barrier and watched in shock and awe as Mori kissed Haruhi like he was a dying man.

Chelsea shrugged her shoulders, "I think I need to start looking for a new roommate."

Hikaru cast her an appraising look and leaned down so he could speak softly to her, "I know someone that might be interested, want to discuss it over dinner?"

Chelsea giggled, cast one long look at Hunny and Reiko, and then quiet happily said, "I'd love too."

Hunny and Reiko seemed oblivious to the exchange; they merely watched Mori and Haruhi with stars in their eyes.

"Aw…my little girl is all grown up!" Tamaki wailed, dragging Kaoru to him so he could cry in his hair.

Kaoru just smiled and rolled his eyes as he patted Tamaki on the back.

Kyoya just smirked in a rather happy manner as he helped his very pregnant wife, Alianore, stand up.

Alianore whispered in his ear, "You knew that was going to happen didn't you?"

Kyoya tried to look innocent, it didn't work. "Well, I  _thought_  it might happen, but you always have to allow for human error and I must say I wasn't expecting the storm."

"I knew it! I don't think Haruhi was expecting it either, but she seems to have stood up well with it. She might just be over her fear."

Kyoya gave her a quick kiss, "Of course she's over her fear. She's proven herself now, she has nothing to fear from anyone."

The kiss between Haruhi and Mori finally ended. For a moment they stared into each other's eyes, breathless, and then Mori spoke.

"I love you," he said softly, so only she could hear.

Haruhi's eyes widened in shock, "But…I thought you loved Chelsea!"

Mori shook his head a little, "I loved her until I met you. I held out hope as long as you were single."

Part of Haruhi was shocked that he had said so many words, but the rest was in shock at the content of the words. "So you really love me?"

"I do," he said simply.

Haruhi smiled in happiness and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "I think I love you too Mori. Why don't we go grab dinner and see?"

Mori hugged her tight for a moment before pulling back. "That works for me."

He then gallantly offered her his arm and led her down the aisle and towards the courtroom doors.

Right before the exit they were stopped by a girl of about fourteen with shoulder length black hair with faded blue streaks and a fringe that covered one of her eyes. She looked a little emo. "Mori, Haruhi, I just wanted to say I knew you could do it! You're my favorite Mori! Not that I don't like Hunny or Haruhi! Oooo, I love Dierck too!"

Haruhi was confused, "Um, who's Dierck?"

"Oh, he's Kaoru and Chiye's oldest son!" As she said this she tried to edge closer to Mori, one hand behind her back holding something.

"Um, Kaoru is gay and Chiye was an off-again, on-again girlfriend of Hikaru's…Are you alright? We can call a doctor if you want," Haruhi said this hesitantly, afraid of scaring the poor girl.

The girl just smiled and pulled out a hammer from behind her back and tried to glomp Mori with it. It just bounced harmlessly off his head as he watched her. Haruhi watched in a mixture of amusement and confusion as he pulled the hammer out of her hand, gave her a quick bear hug, and then set her down on a bench.

Mori then took Haruhi's arm and led her out of the courtroom. Right before the door shut Haruhi looked back to see a look of complete happiness and shock on the crazy girl's face.

A few minutes later she put the strange girl out of her mind. She and Mori were in a car and heading to a small sushi restaurant she liked, Sushimotos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the glomping thing was me putting an avid reviewer in this story and not understand (at the time) that glomp meant hug....yeah....I wrote this years ago....


	14. Chapter 14

Haruhi nervously twirled her chopsticks as she watched Mori eat a cookie monster roll. It was her favorite sushi roll here, a house specialty that wasn't even on the menu. After the roll was prepared it was pan-fried quickly so that the outside was warm and crunchy and the inside was still cold and raw. The change in temperature and texture was like an explosion on her mouth every time.

Mori seemed to think the same way.

Did he really love her? He had to, he wouldn't have kissed her and told her if he hadn't.

She thought back over the past few weeks, trying to find hints of his love.

When her office had been broken into he had been there to rescue her as fast as possible. He was always so protective of her. She hadn't really paid attention to that, but it had started that day back in the Host Club. When they had gone to Kyoya's inside beach.

Mori had carried her through the fake jungle. She had felt so safe cradled in his arms, but she'd always assumed that was because she didn't really have anyone to hold her like that, her father certainly wasn't that sort of person.

"Mori, when did you first realize you loved me?"

Mori just stars at her for a moment, a roll halfway to his mouth. Then a small comforting smile slips across his face like the sun rises over the horizon. "When you insisted on coming with me to look for Hunny at the tropical water park."

"Really?"

He nodded and then popped the roll in his mouth.

"That's interesting, that's when I began to really care for you. I didn't fall in love then of course, I wasn't ready for love then. I still had so much to do."

He smiled again and Haruhi felt warmth rush through her, she loved his smile. Did she love him also?

"I know you did," he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I was prepared to wait."

"I'm glad you waited." Haruhi said simply.

The rest of the meal passed in silence. When they left Sushimotos their hands were clasped and they were stepping into the future together.

Across town Ms. Sakamoto was watching her world crumble around her. Her lying and thieving had finally caught up with her. At least she was free.

Now that Mr. Sagisu and Mr. Sagisu were sitting in jail she was free. Free to rescue her little boy, free to live her life. All she had to do was provide evidence against them and her own crimes would be punished with a mere fine. She could work with that.

"Yes, I'll do it," she said firmly as she pulled her little boy closer to her.

Eito was only eight years old and suffered from severe autism. Soon after he was conceived her fiancée had died in a construction accident and left her an unwed mother. Struggling for money and trying to get medical help for Eito she had accepted a deal.

She would work on corporate espionage for the Sagisu Corporation in return for enough money to get her son the help he needed. A year ago she had tried to pull out of the deal, but they held her past deeds against her, she had been trapped – until the job had come up with Mr. Morinozuka.

She knew that with his connections that it would be easily figured out that it had been a set up. The stupidity of the plan became even more blatant after she got to know him. There was no way anyone would believe him of attempted rape.

With a few well placed slip-ups, including a stupid attempt to steal information, she had made sure there was enough evidence to blow this case open. She wouldn't have been caught if she hadn't done that. She had been too good at what she did. Several other times people had figured out what she had been doing, but they'd had no proof.

Now she and Eito were free.

"Very good Ms. Sakamoto, the date of the deposition will be mailed to you within the week." Mr. Shioya said firmly as he adjusted his glasses. "Try not to lie this time."

"Oh, don't worry Mr. Shioya. I'm done with lying. Now that I'm free I'm going to live in such a way as to make my son proud."

Mr. Shioya smiles slightly as Eito ignores this, he's completely focused on his Rubiks Cube. Which is just fine, I love him anyway.


	15. Chapter 15

The windows made harsh noises as the wind whipped the freezing rain against them. Lightning split the sky and thunder boomed so loud that the bed shook.

Haruhi woke up, but felt no fear, only the shock of having the bed move under her. Sitting up she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and then softly slipped out of the room, careful to not awaken Mori.

He slept like a log; nothing could wake him up, except for the sound of one of their children crying.

Slipping down the hall she poked her head in one room. Akari slept just like her father. Nothing would wake her up or keep her awake, not even the knowledge that tomorrow was her first day at Tokyo University.

Haruhi smiled as she gazed at her oldest child. Akari had grown up so fast. She had been born less than a year after Mori and Haruhi got married. She had dreams of following her mother into law and nothing was going to stop her.

Softly shutting the door she moved down the hall to check on Fuyuki. He was a lot like his father, even at the age of twelve: strong, silent, and always protective of his cousins, Genji and Fusao – Hunny and Reiko's twin sons. The only difference between him and his father was the sarcastic streak of humor he'd gained from his mother.

Like his sister and father he was sleeping right through the storm. Nothing was going to wake him up. Haruhi walked over and covered him up and then moved to the room of her last child.

Konami was a very calm and serious three year old – except during Thunderstorms. Like her mother before her she was terrified them. Sure enough, when Haruhi looked inside she found Konami huddled under the blankets, shivering.

Taking a seat on the bed Haruhi pulled her baby girl into her arms. "Shhh… It's alright Ami. Mommy's here. The storm can't hurt you."

Konami snuggled further into Haruhi's arms, gripping Haruhi with a rather strong grip for a three year old.

Haruhi carefully stood up, Konami still in her arms, and walked back to the room she shared with Mori. Just as they were entering there was another huge boom and Konami screamed in fright.

Mori was instantly up and across the room, taking Konami from Haruhi's arms. All he said was, "Ami," and she quieted down some. He tenderly cradled her in his arms and took a seat on the bed, rocking her gently and making soft crooning noises.

Haruhi smiled at the sight. Even with the streaks of grey in his hair he still looked almost like he had when she had married him nineteen years earlier.

Moving across the room she sat next to Mori and rested her head on his arm as their youngest drifted off to dreamland.

"I love you," she whispered softly.

Mori simply leaned over and gave her a soft kiss in response. He had only ever said he loved her with words once, in the courtroom that first time, but he had said it without words a million times since then.


End file.
